Orbz wins Best Multiplayer Game
by Justin Mette · in General Game Discussion · 12/28/2003 (2:58 pm) · 9 replies
Game Tunnel has awarded top honors to Orbz for the best Networked Multiplayer game of the year. This is a very satisfying award because the original inspiration behind the game was multiplayer - in fact the first version of Orbz that shipped almost a year ago today was MP only.
www.gametunnel.com/html/section-viewarticle-22.html
www.gametunnel.com/html/section-viewarticle-22.html
#2
12/29/2003 (8:17 am)
That's a nice surprize!
#3
Say -- I was just wondering, what is the online/multiplayer action like in Orbz at the moment (new year?) -- I seem to recall that there were problems with not enough people to play against in multi?
What's it like now?
01/04/2004 (6:21 pm)
Hmmmm.Say -- I was just wondering, what is the online/multiplayer action like in Orbz at the moment (new year?) -- I seem to recall that there were problems with not enough people to play against in multi?
What's it like now?
#4
01/04/2004 (10:03 pm)
There is rarely a time that there is not at least one decent-sized game of Orbz to join, and typically there are multiple servers running the game.
#5
01/06/2004 (12:53 pm)
There is definetly an upward swing since I came into the multiplayer scene a couple of weeks ago. I can't get my rank above 68 now so there are a lot of players still playing the game as I'm always in there getting thrashed.
#6
I haven't been able to play much, but I think that if I get off of work tonight before 11pm I can rank around 100 . . . and I was very pleasantly surprised, at 12:30am I was able to still get a game, and around 8pm there were 3 good-sized games. And, really, with Orbz it's hard for 1 good-sized game not to do you just fine. ;)
I feel that Orbz is way underrated. The game mechanic is wonderfully simple. On the other hand, it can also get repetitive . . . some elements that I think might improve flexibility and longevity:
1) Respawning stars. This would screw up current balance. But it would also really extend the flexibility of the game.
2) Mild skill-based offensive/preventative ability. I know that this is a family game -- but I think that, for instance, the ability to shoot an arcing projectile (one that's not you) that affects the game world when it lands would fit in beautifully. Imagine the kind of great spontaneous gameplay that could emerge if players could launch a projectile that exploded on impact, pushing others off course, or deploying a large 'Goober Bubble', or a 'Freeze Frame Bubble'? Think of it as 'irritating powerups -- that actually require skill to use'. And thanks to the beautiful control mechanic, the purpose of the game wouldn't change that much -- think about how hard it is to shoot yourself into the immediate vincinity of anoter player and be sure he's there when you get there! Any projectiles could be just as easily avoided -- but when prediction is used, one might have to make a different decision. ('I won't shoot for that ledge, because I see that he just shot a blue-tailed thing at it -- instead, I'll shoot over it.') Etc -- I'm sure this has been brought up internally, but I just wanted to let you know that I think it could work. It would help to keep the playing experience from becoming overly insular -- and though still extremely simple, might just enable the emergence of complex behavior like teamwork.
3) Maps. Of course, everyone would like more of everything; content isn't easy to come by, etc. But some of the maps are a lot less playable than others, so when there are -- what, 8? 12? -- it's noticeable.
But, that's all minor -- and, I think, a testament to how fun this game is! If they care enough to bitch, they'll care enough to play. ;) Hey, at the worst, it still means they want to like your product!
I think this is just getting rolling, and probably will be picking up momentum; easily half of the people I played with were new like me, or at least claimed to be (the other half played more often, so it only seemed like most people were waywaywayway better than me). And, on a personal note, I will be happy to contribute my efforts to the mapping effort!
01/06/2004 (7:34 pm)
Heh . . . . actually, I bought the game the same night that I posted that.I haven't been able to play much, but I think that if I get off of work tonight before 11pm I can rank around 100 . . . and I was very pleasantly surprised, at 12:30am I was able to still get a game, and around 8pm there were 3 good-sized games. And, really, with Orbz it's hard for 1 good-sized game not to do you just fine. ;)
I feel that Orbz is way underrated. The game mechanic is wonderfully simple. On the other hand, it can also get repetitive . . . some elements that I think might improve flexibility and longevity:
1) Respawning stars. This would screw up current balance. But it would also really extend the flexibility of the game.
2) Mild skill-based offensive/preventative ability. I know that this is a family game -- but I think that, for instance, the ability to shoot an arcing projectile (one that's not you) that affects the game world when it lands would fit in beautifully. Imagine the kind of great spontaneous gameplay that could emerge if players could launch a projectile that exploded on impact, pushing others off course, or deploying a large 'Goober Bubble', or a 'Freeze Frame Bubble'? Think of it as 'irritating powerups -- that actually require skill to use'. And thanks to the beautiful control mechanic, the purpose of the game wouldn't change that much -- think about how hard it is to shoot yourself into the immediate vincinity of anoter player and be sure he's there when you get there! Any projectiles could be just as easily avoided -- but when prediction is used, one might have to make a different decision. ('I won't shoot for that ledge, because I see that he just shot a blue-tailed thing at it -- instead, I'll shoot over it.') Etc -- I'm sure this has been brought up internally, but I just wanted to let you know that I think it could work. It would help to keep the playing experience from becoming overly insular -- and though still extremely simple, might just enable the emergence of complex behavior like teamwork.
3) Maps. Of course, everyone would like more of everything; content isn't easy to come by, etc. But some of the maps are a lot less playable than others, so when there are -- what, 8? 12? -- it's noticeable.
But, that's all minor -- and, I think, a testament to how fun this game is! If they care enough to bitch, they'll care enough to play. ;) Hey, at the worst, it still means they want to like your product!
I think this is just getting rolling, and probably will be picking up momentum; easily half of the people I played with were new like me, or at least claimed to be (the other half played more often, so it only seemed like most people were waywaywayway better than me). And, on a personal note, I will be happy to contribute my efforts to the mapping effort!
#7
It's good to hear you're enjoying the game. We are definitely planning on some type of upgrade to Orbz this year, and high on our list is more content.
01/07/2004 (3:59 pm)
Luc,It's good to hear you're enjoying the game. We are definitely planning on some type of upgrade to Orbz this year, and high on our list is more content.
#8
Your idea of a projectile that has an area effect inspired an idea to just have an area effect power up that would send nearby orbz flying away from you when activated - like a repulsor of some kind...
With regards to spawning stars, we do have the respawning bonus star (worth 400 points) in MP games to try and add some level of randomness to the course. There might be some server settings related to respawning of normal stars that might be worth considering further.
Keep those ideas coming!
01/07/2004 (7:15 pm)
Good stuff guys! We will be opening up discussions here in the forums and hopefully some IRC chats to talk about the next version of Orbz and collect some feedback from the community about what types of features everyone wants to see - as well as talk about the features we think should be added.Your idea of a projectile that has an area effect inspired an idea to just have an area effect power up that would send nearby orbz flying away from you when activated - like a repulsor of some kind...
With regards to spawning stars, we do have the respawning bonus star (worth 400 points) in MP games to try and add some level of randomness to the course. There might be some server settings related to respawning of normal stars that might be worth considering further.
Keep those ideas coming!
red-shift (Orbz); Preferred (TT)
Knew it all along, of course!